The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-08-18
Allan Quartermain
BY H. Rider Haggard.
Author Of "She," liking Solo
Mons Mines" "Jcss," "The
Witch's Head" Etc.
CHAPTER VI.
THE RIGHT WEARS ON.


together In little groups, and all talking at
once in awed tones of the awfulness OF Nasal
manners and customs, and Of tho fate that
they had to expect il those bloodthirsty saw
ages succeeded in getting over the stone wall
Immediately after we had settled upon the
outline OF our plan Of action as suggested by
UmslopoGaas, Mr. Mackenzie sent for four
sharp boys of from l2 TO 10 years Of age, and
dispatched them TO various points whence
they could keep an outlook upon the Nasal
camp, with orders to report from time to
time what was going VI. Other lads and
oven women, were stationed at intervals
along the wall, in order to guard against the
possibility Of surprise.
After this tho twenty mon who formed his
whole available fighting force were sum
moned by our host into the square formed by
the house, and there, standing by the bolc OF
the great confer, he earnestly addressed
them and our four Aslsari.
"Men,n said Mr. Mackenzie, after he had
put all the circumstances Of the case fully
and clearly before them, and explained to
them the proposed plan of our forlorn hope
"men, for years have been good friend to
you, protecting you, teaching you, guarding
you and yours from harm, and ye have
prospered with me. Ye have seen my child
the Waterlily, as we call her-grow year
by year, from tenderest infancy to tender
childhood, and from childhood on toward
maidenhood. She has been your children's
playmate she has helped to tend you when
sick, and ye have loved her."
ave have" said deep voice, "and we will
die to save her"
~ thank you from my heart-I thank you.
Sure am that now, in this hour of darkest
trouble, now that her young life is like TO be
cut Off by cruel and savage men-who OF
truth know not what they do'-ye will strive
your best to save her, and to save me and her
mother from broken hearts. Think, too, OF
your own wives and children. If she dies,
her death will be followed by an attack upon
us here, and at the best, even if we hold our
own, your houses and gardens will be de-
stroyed and your goods and cattle swept
away. | am, as ye well know, man of
peace. Never in all these years have lifted
my hand to shed mans blood; but now say
strike, strike, in the name of God, who babe
us protect our lives and homes. Swear to
me, he went on, with added fervor-"swear
to me that while man of you remains alive
yo viii strive your uttermost with me and
from bloody and a cruel death"
"Say no more, my father" said the same
deep voice, that belonged to stalwart elder
of tho mission "wo swear it, May we and
ours die the death Of dogs, and our bones be
thrown to the jackals and the kites, If we
break the OATH 1t is fearful thing to do
my father, so few to strike at so many, yet
will we do it or die in tho doing. We swerP
GAY, thus say we all,n chimed in the others.
"Thus say we all, said /.
at is WELL" went on Mr.. Mackenzie. "Ye
are true men and not broken reeds to lean
on. And now we will begin our preparations
| in good earnest"
The men who were TO form each little
party were carefully selected, and still more
| carefully and infinitely instructed as to
what was TO DO done After much con-
sideration it was agreedthat the ten men led
by Good, whose duty it was to stampede the
camp, were not to carry firearms; that is,
with tho exception OF Good himself, who had
| q revolver as well as q short sword-the
| Nasal Hsimen which / had taken from the
body of our poor servant who was murdered
| in tho canoe. We feared that il they had fire
arms tho result of three cross fires carried on
at onco would be that some Of our own people
would be shot; besides, 1t appeared to all OF
as that tho work they had to do would
best DO carried out with cold steel-es-
pecially to Umslopogaas, who was, indeed,
| a great advocate OF cold steel. We had with
us four Winchester repeating rifles, besides
half dozen Martins. I armed myself with
| one of the repeaters-my own; an excellent
weapon for this kind of work, where great
rapidly Of fire is desirable, and fitted with
ordinary flap sights, instead Of the usual
cumbersome sliding mechanism which they
generally have Mr.. Mackenzie took another,
and the two remaining ones were given to
| two of his men, who understood the use OF
them and were noted shots. The Martins and
some rifles of Mr.. MackenzieIs were served
out together with plentiful supply of am
munition, to the other natives who were to
| form the two parties whose duty it was to be to
| open fire from separate sides Of tho kraal on
the sleeping Nasal, and who were fortunately
| oil moro or less accustomed to tho use OF q
gun.
As for Umslopogaas, we know how he was
armed-with an ak. 1t may be remembered
that he, Sir Henry, and the strongest of tho
AslSari were to hold the thorn stopped en-
trance to the kraal against tho anticipated
rush Of men striving 10 escape. or course,
for such purpose as this guns were useless.
Therefore Sir Henry and the Askari pro-
ceedcd TO arm themselves in like fashion. II
so happened that Mr.. Mackenzie had in his
little store q selection Of the very best steel
| English made hammer backed AK heads. Sir
Henry selected one of these, weighing about
two and half pounds and very broad in tho
blade, and the Aslzari took another a size
smaller After Umslopogaas had put an
extra edge ON these two ak heads, we fixed
them to three feet six helves, of which Mr..
Mackenzie fortunately had some in stock,
made Of light but exceedingly tough native
wood, something like English ash, only moro
Ind